Manual tripping mechanism for igniters.



H. R. VAN DEVENTER.

MANUAL TRIPPING MECHANISM FOR IGNITERS.

APPLICATION FILED use. 24. 19 14.

1,245,830. Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY RANDOLPH VAN DEVENTER, OF SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO SPLITDORF ELECTRICAL COMPANY, OF NEWARK, NEW

JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

To all'whont'it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY RANDOLPH VAN DEVENTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sumter, in the county of Sumterand State of South Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Manual Tripping Mechanism for Igniters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to ignition apparatus for internal combustion engines, and has for its "object the production of a self convice, this bracket carries the actuator or trip lever, the operating means for the movable electrode of the igniter, the necessary springs and connecting means, the detach-- able magneto, and the hand firing lever. Ac-

cording to one modification, the hand firing" lever is mounted upon the engine cyhnderor to a separate part connected thereto, 1n-

dependently of the main supporting bracket. The characteristic feature of my mvention is that the operating parts are assembled together on the bracket, without being dependent upon the' magneto machine or its frame. This independence enables the mag- .neto to be detachable, and of any standard design which is an important factor in manufacture and makes for greater efficiency as well as economy. This also enables hand firing to be accomplished Without the magneto. As will appear from the detailed description, this hand firing covers both the magneto and the igniter' (using battery to furnish current for the latter when the mag neto has been removed) and I am not aware of any device in the prior art having this flexibility, or indeed making it possible to hand fire without a magneto, and w thout altering the general operation of the engine and ignition system. In this respect, as well as in others which will presently appear, the presentdesign is an improvement over those heretofore proposed and patented by others.

Specification of Letters Patent.

MANUAL TRIPPING MECHANISM FOR IGNITERS.

Patented Nov. 6, 1917.

Application filed December 24, 1914. Serial No. 878,932.

a magneto machine having a special frame work I shall claim broadly herein thecomblnation presented, of the actuating parts ported independently of the magneto machine assuch.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of my ignition unit applied to a. cylinder wall, shown in section.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a modification in which the hand firing lever is supported directly upon the cylinder of the engine.

- In the drawings, 1 indicates a wall of the engine cylinder which may be of any standard or desired type to which this gen eral type of ignition apparatus is applicable. 2 indicates the body of an igniter which enters the cylinder through an opening in the wall 1. 3 indicates the movable electrode of the igniter cooperating with a fixed electrode 4 carried on the body. The electrode 3 is mounted on a shaft 5 which extends through the body 2, for operation by mechanism external to the cylinder. Secured to the body 2 is a bracket 7 projecting. from the engine cylinder in a plane/parallel to the aXis of the igni'ter, and preferably horizontal. Integral with this bracket, and also with the igniter body 2, is a plate or flange 6 carrying arms 8 and 9 upon which are mounted posts or studs 10 and 11, serving as fixed anchorages for the outer ends of the operating springs 12 and 13. Mounted upon the igniter shaft 5, and adapted to oscillate freely thereon, being detachably connected to 32 of the magneto, is an actuator or trip lever 14 with an upwardly projecting finger 15 in the path of reciprocating travel of a push rod 16 which when the engine is running is moved back and forth as indicated by the double headed arrow in Fig. 2. This reciprocating motion may be imparted to the push rod by a crank or cam or other device driven by the engine in a manner which Will be well understood by those skilled in the art. The

with a hand firing device mounted and suppush rod entirely and prevent actuation of a hit-and-miss engine.

21 is forced to the left as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, by a pin or stud 22 on the exhaust valve operating rod 23. The function of the eccentric cam 17 is to effect timing of the spark by determining the extent of engagement of the end of the push rod 16 with the finger 15, and thereby the exact point in the stroke of the push rod at which it will slip over the point of the finger 15 and permit the actuator to be snapped back by the springs. The function of the bell crank lever 2021 is to disengage the the triplever 14 on the exhaust stroke. This of course is particularly applicable to The electrodes 3 and 4 are normally maintained in engagement by means of a helical spring 24 (see Fig. 1) having one end at tached to the flange or frame 6 and the other end attached to the electrode shaft 5. The opening of the electrodes is accomplished' by means of a dog 25 rigidly fixed on the electrode shaft and carryin a screw tappt 26, engaged from beneath by a stud 27 carried on the actuator or trip lever 14:. This stud serves also for the attachment of the spring 12, each end of the actuator being slotted to receive the eye on the end of the spring. The outer end of the stud 27 also projects through and beyond the actuator, far enough to be engaged by the end of the hand firing lever 29 which is in the form of a bell crank having an upwardly projecting handle 30 and mounted at its angle on the outer end of the post or stud 10. A pin 28 at the opposite end of the actuator 14 from the stud 27 receives and holds the eye on the end of the spring 13, and'the parts are so proportioned that When the actuator is in the position shown in Fig. 2, that is to say 1n the normal nonfirlng position, its axls w1ll approxlmately coincide with the axes of the sprlng helices, the springs being under sufiicienttenslon to maintain this position.

Outside of the actuator, a magneto machine 31 is mounted on the bracket 7, thls machine being shown in plan in Flg. 1, but being removed in Fig. 2 and the bracket shown in section, in order to expose the operating parts. This magneto, as already stated, may be of any stated type or structure provided it' ha a rotor or oscillator capable of producing a spark as required by the i iter. I do not hereln claim any speci 0 means for attaching the rotor or oscillator of this magneto to the other parts, and particularly to the actuator, but I have indicated a connection at 32 in Fig. 1 between the shaft of the magneto and the actuator 11, which it will be remembered is free to oscillate on the shaft 5 of the movable electrode 3. The connection thus indicated may be by means of screws, or a com bination collar, or any desired type of coupling or connection, many devices suitable for this purpose being well known in the art, and one of them, a detachable pin and slot crank coupling being described and illustrated in my prior application Serial No. 878,196, filed December 19, 1914.

The operation of my unit thus described is as follows:

Assuming the'parts to be in the sition shown in Fig. 2 and that the engine has been turned into the proper position b hand, with suitable compression in the cyf inder, the hand firing lever 30 is moved to the right (Fig. 2), which swings the lever arm 29 about its center post 10, so that the bearing face of the lever 29 will engage the end of the stud 27 and force down the corresponding end of the trip lever 14, so as to oscillate the latter on its shaft and place both springs 12 and 13 under tension. The bearing face of the lever 29 is shown curved, and it is so designed that it will continue to enga e the stud 27 and force it down until the linger 15 is swung'around into cocked position. Continued movement of the lever 3029 in the same direc-' tion then causes the end of the lever 29 to pass over the stud 27, whereupon the the trip lever will be snapped back by the springs 12 and 13 into the position shown in Fig. 2. As it is snapped it turns the rotor or oscillator of the magneto 31 and generates an electromotive force and current in the ignition circuit including the generating coil of the machine 31, the wire 33, the fixed electrode 4, the movable electrode 3, the shaft 5, and the body of the igniter and bracket and connected parts, back to the generating winding, which is understood to be grounded on the frame. At the proper, instant when this electromotive force and current has reached its maximum, the inner end of the stud 27 strikes the screw tappet 26, and lifts the same so as to turn the dog 25 and the shaft 5, and thereby lift the movable contact 3 out of contact with the fixed electrode 4. The resultant spark fires the charge under compression and the engine starts. After starting in this way, the push rod 16 1s reclprocated, and on the next stroke would engage the finger 15, but islifted by th forward reciprocation of the exhaust valve operating rod 23, which throws the lever 21 to the left as shown in dotted lines and causes the igniter to miss that stroke. At the .next stroke howeve back, the push ush rod .23 being van'ces and forces the finger l5--to' the ft j-(Fig. 2)- until the trip lever lt-isgin-cocked-position, when the end of the puslrrodislips off the finger and the springs snap the trip lever back and produce a spark at the electrodes 34 in the same manner as before.

Referring now toFig. 3, itwill be .ob--

served that Ihave shown therein only the trip lever 14, the plate'fi, and the hand fir-- ing lever 29*-30 In this case the hand firing lever is carried on the stud or post so,

' attached to the cylinder or other portion 'of ver the engine. The operation is the same as in the-apparatus first described, except that the 9 acts upon the finger instead of upon the stud 27. vOf course this' m'ust be 7 so arranged'that the lever will not offer any means for this purpose,

obstruction to the push rod 16, butIhave not deemed it necessary to indicate any special as such means may be readilysupplied by any one skilled in this art. The simplest manner of attaining the desired end is to swing the lever 293O into horizontal position when not time eccentric or cam 17 may be mounted upon or combined with the lever 20, by being journaled upon a stud 2O at the end of said lever; or the two lever arms 20 and 21 may be formed separately with a tubular knuckle-joint between them, so that the angle which they form with each other may be varied, and the knuckle-joint would then be journaled upon the post 34, the two lever arms 20 and 21 being rigid and moved together by the rod 23, but relatively adjustable for timing. I do not specifically claim all these modifications herein, but they fall within the scope of the claims for my unit apparatus.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. An ignition device for internal combustion engines comprising in combination the following elements: an igniter body comprising a bracket and carrying a fixed electrode and a. movable electrode with a shaft extending through the body, a trip lever adapted to actuate said shaft and electrode and to be actuated by an engine driven element, a magneto generator having a rotor adapted to be oscillated supported on the bracket and connected to said trip lever, and

a hand firing lever carried on a support in- 'bustion engines comprising in combination dependent of the magneto generator, and

havlng a cam nose adapted when the lever prising a bracket and carrying a fixed electrode and a movable electrode with a shaft extending through the body, a trip lever adapted to actuate said shaft and electrode and to be actuated by an-engine driven element, a magneto generator having a rotor adapted to be oscillated supported on the bracket and connected to said trip lever, and a hand firing lever supported on said bracket independently of the magneto generator, and having a cam nose adapted when the lever is moved to engage the trip lever and in passing over. the same to automatically release it at a predetermined point resulting in an actuating movement thereof, to operate the magneto and the movable electrode shaft.

An ignition device for internal combustion engines comprising in combination the following elements: an igniter .body comprising a bracket and carrying a fixed electrode and a movable electrode with a shaft extending through the body, a, trip lever adaptedto actuate said shaft'and electrode and to be actuated by an engine drivenelement, a magneto generator-having a rotor adapted to be oscillated supported on the bracket and connected to said trip lever, and a hand firing lever supported onthe 1 5 engine body independently of the magneto generator, and having a cam nose adapted when the lever is moved to engage the trip lever and in passing over the same to automatically release it at a predetermined point 1 resulting in an actuating movement thereof, to operate the magneto and the movablev electrode shaft.

4. An ignition device for internal comthe following elements: an igniter body carrying a fixed electrode and a movable electrode with a shaft extending through the body, a frame attached to said igniter body, a bracket projecting from the frame, a trip lever supported above the bracket, posts or studs on the frame with springs extending therefrom to the trip lever to actuate the same, an operating connection between said trip lever and the electrode shaft, and a magneto having a rotor adapted to be oscillated mounted on the bracket and connected to the trip lever, all of said parts being arranged and mounted toform an integral self-contained unit, together with a hand firing lever pivoted on a support independent of the magneto, and having a curved cam nose adapted when the hand lever is moved to engage the trip lever and force the same into cocked or firing position against the tension of the springs,continued movement of the hand lever thereafter releasing the trip lever having a cam nose and permitting it to actuate the magneto and movable electrode to fire the charge in the engine.

5. An ignition device for internal combustion engines comprising in combination the following elements: an igniter, a magneto and a trip lever for actuating the same, mounted and connected as a self-contained unit, With a hand firing lever pivoted independently of the magneto having a cam nose adapted when moved to actuate the igniter and oscillate the magneto rotor.

6. An ignition device for internal coinbust-ionengines comprising in combinati- 1 the following elements: an igniterbody carrying a fixed electrode and a movable electrode with a shaft extending through the body, a trip lever supported by the lgniter assembly adapted to actuate -aid shall and electrode and to be actuated by an engine driven element, and a hand liring lever having a elm nose adapted when the lever is moved to engage the trip lever and in passing over the same to automatically release it at a predetermined point resulting in an actuating movement thereof to operate the movable electrode shaft. r

7. An ignition device for internal combustion engines comprising in combination the following elements: an iguiter, and a. trip lever with actuating parts therefor mounted and connected as a self-contained unit, and a hand firing lever supported hythe igniter assembly having a cam nose adapted when moved to engage the trip lever and in passing over the same automatically release it at a predetermined point resulting in an actuating movement thereof.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HARRY RANDOLPH VAN DEVENTER. \Vitnesses EDNA IsLEn, E. H. RHAME. 

